Orc

Ørhuuka

Orcs are a species of large humanoid beings from the continent of Arokha. Occasionally misrepresented as dull-witted and brutish marauders, thanks to their imposing appearance and traditions, the orcs are remarkably intelligent. Strategically-minded and highly creative, orcs excel at a variety of occupations from military leadership to tradesmanship to artisanship.

Biology

Orcs are powerfully built and rather humanoid, though their body plan is entirely convergent to the hominid form. Their evolutionary ancestors thrived in an arboreal lifestyle, but were eventually forced to adapt to cursoriality when their forest habitat faded into grasslands during the second ice age. Orcs have flattish snouts with remarkably prominent lower canines, forming their iconic tusks. They also have small, triangular ears and the faintest trace of whiskers near the nose and eyes. Orcish hands and feet are heavily padded and only have four digits each.
Orcs retain the herbivorous diet of their evolutionary ancestors, surprising many folk who wrongly envision them as bloodthirsty savages. They occasionally supplement this vegetarian diet with invertebrates, but their digestive systems are poorly suited to deal with meat.

Civilization & Culture

Language

The orcs have, by far, the most widely varied set of languages on Sphaera, from qorakuiy in the northeast to ørnikh in the far southeast to makwau in the west. Each subfamily has many regional variants, usually divided by tribe, with a total of over three hundred unique dialects.

Ritual Combat

Orcs are particularly renowned as the inventors of a wide variety of martial arts, with each tribal group practicing a distinct form of combat suited perfectly to their regional differences. Kozul-ka, for example, is a combat form indigenous to the central steppes that is based on sweeping kicks and manipulation of the opponent’s inertia.

Orcish Magic

The orc tribes are also known for their unique brand of magus practice that invokes the realignment of reality in a particular way to produce a desired outcome. Scholars do not yet fully understand the quantum-physical mechanisms that facilitate this, but the leading theory is based upon the psionic alteration of superstring vibration.

by Gen Ritter

Scientific Name

Megahyrax sapiens

Origin/Ancestry

Dendrohyrax dorsalis

Average Height

2 meters

Average Weight

81 kilograrms

Sapience type

centric

Waystone Info

BASIC ABILITY

+2 STR

SPEED

30

BONUS ABILITY

+1 WIS

SIZE

Medium

---

Innate Traits

Tough It Out

Your people are a hardy folk, known for their physical resilience. If your stamina is above half, you can weather critical hits without taking double damage.

Self-Sabotage

Adrenaline can only help you so much, unfortunately. Once your health drops below half, your critical miss attack rolls will cost you stamina and health.